1. Statement of the Invention
The invention relates to a thermal interface adapter for increasing the thermal resistance of a conduction cooling module, and more particularly, to a thermal interface adapter which can be customized for a particular module so as to keep the electronic elements being cooled within specified limits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the miniaturized capabilities afforded by the discovery of solid state electronics, various improved means of dissipating the heat generated by solid state components have been investigated. The standard forced air convection means appears to have reached its limit of practicality in that the amount of air that is required to provide sufficient cooling for the limited heat dissipating surfaces introduces a noise problem, and without some auxiliary techniques cannot maintain each of a large number of components within its critical, narrow operating temperature range. Accordingly, especially in connection with large scale computer systems, an encapsulated cooling system has been devised which provides one or more heat dissipating electronic components encapsulated in a special cooling environment such as a low boiling point liquid or a gas. U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,123, filed Oct. 28, 1975 and issued Nov. 23, 1976 shows an example of an encapsulated cooling unit for one or more heat generating components mounted on a substrate. A heat conductive cap is sealed to the substrate enclosing the heat generating components. The wall of the cap opposite the substrate contains elongated openings therein extending towards the heat generating components and on the same centers with respect thereto. A resilient member is located in the cap in communion with the inner end of the openings. A thermal conductive element is located in each of the openings forming a small peripheral gap between each opening wall and the associated thermal conductive element. The resilient member urges the thermal conductive elements into pressure contact with the heat generating components. A thermal conductive inert gas is located within the cap filling the peripheral gaps and the interfaces between the heat generating elements and the thermal conductive elements. The heat is removed from the cap by external heat removal means.
This conduction cooling scheme is very efficient and keeps the electronic components to be cooled operating within their specified thermal limits. However, when low-powered chips are included with high-powered chips within the same module or all low-powered chips are utilized, the direct conduction cooling module is too efficient for the low-power electronic components. That is, the low-power electronic components are essentially over-cooled such that they are maintained below their minimum operating temperature limit.